KILDIMO/ PALLASKENRY.
SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 2-9 St. Kieran’s 2-12. Last Thursday evening, we played our first ever Senior Football Championship match in the Bog Garden versus St. Kieran’s. There was heartbreak for our lads, who led for long periods in the game but our experienced opponents just pulled clear in the final few minutes. Down a number of players from our county final victory last year, this did not bother us as we started like a train. We opened the scoring and, although it was tit-for-tat in the early stages, Ciaran Barry, on his Championship debut, hammered a ball to the back of the net to give us an early lead. We would continue to score freely throughout the first half, and led by four points at the half-time break: Kildimo/Pallaskenry 1-7 St. Kieran’s 0-6.
The second half did not begin at the same pace as the first, both teams were a little more cautious and although we notched a point to extend our advantage, Kieran’s hit back with a goal from a penalty to pull them back into contention. However, we immediately responded, and in absolutely fine style. Our captain, Liam O’Sullivan, scored an absolutely inspirational score, running a huge distance before putting the ball in the back of the net to put us back five points in front. However, St. Kieran’s were touted as one of the favourites to top this group at the outset and they showed all their ability and experience as they began to hugely pressure us and a second goal with ten minutes to go saw the gap reduced to just a point. We missed a penalty of our own and were just unable to kick on and, just as we entered stoppage time, Kieran’s took the lead and were just able to hold on for a three-point victory.
This is a step-up in quality, a first ever senior game for the club against very strong opposition and we fell just short. There certainly was disappointment amongst the group as we aren’t here simply to make up the numbers. Each match at this level is a learning experience, and we are
Team: Kevin Walsh; James Pomeroy, Lorcan O’Leary, Brian Howard; Liam O’Sullivan, Jack Mullane, Ciaran Barry; Tony McCarthy, Conor Staff; Garry Sheehan, Dylan Corrigan, Paudi Hartigan; Matthew Lucey, Peter Nash, Ciarán Galvin
Panel: Jamie Hickey, Shaun Barry, Martin Nunan, Luke Guinane, Barry Walsh, Eoin Sheehan, Johnny McHale, Jai Chaudri, Ken O’Donoghue, Eoin Sexton, Evan Considine, Darren Lane, Aaron O’Donovan, Dylan Moloney, Evin Kelly, Tadhg O’Shaughnessy, Sean Staff, Oran Kelly
SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURE: We face Adare in our second game of this year’s football Championship next Saturday at 7.30pm, also in the Bog Garden, Rathkeale. Please come along to give the lads your support!
LIMERICK SENIOR HURLERS: A huge congratulations to Kyle Hayes who put in a man-of-the-match performance, hitting three points from play and working himself into the ground for the Limerick senior hurlers as they defeated Galway in the All-Ireland Hurling semi-final. Manager John Kiely once again mentioned the contribution that the rest of the panel and backroom make in Limerick’s success and we must also congratulate Darren O’Connell, Ruairí Maher and Mark Melbourne for their involvement also. We are looking forward to yet another All-Ireland final and would like to wish them the very best of luck ahead of a mouthwatering clash against Kilkenny.
LIMERICK U-16 FOOTBALL: Congratulations to Cian O’Sullivan, Ross Allen and Sam Guerin who represented the club on the Limerick U-16 football team who played Galway at the weekend!
LIMERICK U-15 HURLING: We also had three representatives on the Limerick U-15 hurling panel; congratulations to Joe Fitzgerald, Cian Guinane and Jose Azzopardi.
CLUB LOTTO: There was no winner of the club lotto draw this week. Numbers drawn were 10, 13, 18, 32. The €25 lucky dip winners were 1. John O’Brien c/o Tom; 2. B & A Moylan; 3. Liam O’Shaughnessy; 4. Heather Keane. The jackpot will rise to €4,900 for next week’s draw.
Our lotto has moved online and can be played at https://smartlotto.ie/kildimo-pallaskenry-gaa/lotto with options to play weekly, monthly or as often as you like! Six-month and annual lotto subscriptions are also now available. With ongoing restrictions our club lotto is the most vital fundraising and income source for the club, even more so now when all other fundraising activities remain suspended and not possible to run. We are continuing to reach out to members, supporters, friends of our club to please consider joining and playing the lotto online in order to support the ongoing costs of running our club. The best way to support the club right now is through the lotto!
Tickets are also available in Mace Kildimo, Gala Pallaskenry, the Seven Sisters, the Beer Garden, De Bucket, the Corner House and Clancy’s Bar and from our weekly lotto sellers. Please continue to support your local club!
CLUB DEVELOPMENT: Work is well underway on our ballwall and Astro project, with the wall fully erected! However, we still need to raise approximately €20,000 in order to complete the project with floodlighting, footpaths & security. Anybody who would like to support this initiative can do so via our Appreciation Wall & Signage program. Contact any committee member for details.
CLUB LIMERICK DRAW: We had a club winner in the most recent Club Limerick draw, as Kay O’Dowd took home a prize! The Club Limerick draw has always been an important source of funds for our club, with funds being shared equally between club and county teams. You can join this online or contact our draw co-ordinator, Bernie O’Dea, at bernod@gmail.com.
PITCH SIGNAGE: If you or business is interested in supporting your local GAA club, give us a message on social media for details of pitch signage options in both Kildimo and Pallaskenry GAA grounds.
TWITTER: The club also have a new twitter account which can be found by searching Kildimo/Pallaskenry GAA or by the twitter handle @kildimopallas. Give the club a follow to keep up to date with all the latest club news.